This is a beautifully designed and extremely aspirational book - so much so that the title "simple country living" seems to be some kind of cheeky joke (it's certainly not simple living that is described). However, this book would make a beautiful gift or serve well as a coffee table book for anyone interested in dabbling in homesteading.

Such a lovely book! As someone raised in the city and now lives on a few acres in the country I love learning from women who have “been there, done that.” The pictures are gorgeous, recipes are easy to follow and the stories and anecdotes are great. I will definitely be reaching for Simple Country Living a lot as I navigate my own simple country living adventure.

Simple Country Living: Techniques, Recipes, and Wisdom for the Garden, Kitchen, and Beyond is a one of those books that is beautiful, but has information that most of us won’t want to use or adapt to our lives. Expecting good, down-to-earth recipes in this book, it was quite disappointing because the recipes actually included are those that most of us would never want to make. Recipes for DIY dryer sheets, laundry detergent, and All-Purpose Cleaning Spray may appeal to some tree huggers, but you can’t eat any of these. It is unfathomable that as far as we have come, people want to go back to a different century. The emphasis is on “natural.” There is excellent gardening information in the book, as well as canning freezing, and dehydrating, which is helpful.

One positive thing about this book is that there are beautiful, professional photographs or not only the few edible recipes, but also

All told, this is a book for those who want to give up everything modern and go back to a time when things were much more difficult. Apparently those who love this book are those who have a lot of extra time on their hands. Anyone who wants to go back to the basics will love to have this book; those of us who like modern conveniences will want to skip it.


Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

This a beautiful and idealized look at country living. A perfect 'coffee table book', if you will, where the enjoyments lie in the crafted photos and simple recipes for sun tea and bruschetta. No new information, you won't learn anything, but it's nice to escape into romanticized simple living sometimes.

I love the soft colors throughout the book. It's very welcoming and makes me want all the animals that she has. I enjoyed all the recipes and will be making most of them.

This is a very sweet, pretty book. It is really best suited for two groups of people -- firstly, those who know absolutely nothing about simple/country living or topics like gardening; secondly, those who really like to look at Instagram type photos of idealized country life.

There are lovely photos and fun little projects like making salt dough ornaments or homemade lemonade, in addition to basic information on things like starting to garden. The author was previously an ICU nurse and the designer of couture wedding gowns. Now she describes her job as "I inspire others to live a simple life" (ie she makes her living as an influencer). The photos are all of herself, her husband and her little daughter in beautiful clothes (generally white, flowing and brand new looking) and looking blissful. She also says that she and her husband had their (gorgeous) house built once they found land they could afford, so this is not attainable for those without that kind of budget. It's hard to tell what her husband does but he describes himself elsewhere as the child of "entrepreneurs" so I'm guessing he has inherited wealth. She describes herself as the child of persecuted Christian Cuban immigrants, so she clearly did not come from privilege initially though.

Thurmon does not ever preach in the book, either about her strong Christian faith (she seems to be 7th Day Adventist) or about being supposedly vegan (as she's described elsewhere on the web), though she seems to eat the eggs and honey that her livestock provide so I'm really unclear about why she's described as vegan. I would have loved to read more about how she uses all the animals on her farm if not for food, and to read more about how she sources food for her family since she makes it sound as if her farm provides all their food but her IG has things like sponsored posts with Country Crock margarine. She does mention the alpacas are raised for shearing their wool and I did notice no dairy in her recipes, but I would really appreciate a "farm girl" book about being vegan as that's certainly not a dialog you get to hear often in country living books. I'm guessing she left those bits out so she wouldn't alienate any readers, but I would appreciate seeing more of how it actually works for her family.

It's a beautiful book and she seems very sweet, but I would love to see more nitty gritty realism and a little more depth. Still recommended, especially for the lovely photos and the sections about how to involve small children.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

I have to admit, the cover was what gave me pause and drew me in. I was excited to see if Ms. Thurmon offered new ideas with a nature inspired home . I wanted her to share different concepts concerning cultivating a garden and mastering the home kitchen . I desired views I hadn't read before now.

The colorful photos were enticing. The author wrote in a soothing manner to allow beginners to follow her easy directions. But did I learn anything new? No.

Thank you to Net Galley, Annette Thurmon and Cool Springs Press for the opportunity to read an arc of this book. If anyone is new to the homesteading concept, this is a wonderful start.

Simple Country Living by Annette Thurman is a great beginning to intermediate book for anyone looking for homesteading or sustainability books. Beautiful photos throughout, it includes practical hands on tips and recipes for gardening, cooking, cleaning, and living a more cottagecore lifestyle. I jotted down a few ideas from the author and started following her online at Azure Farm.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a short, but useful book on living a simpler life. The pictures were beautiful and it even had recipes!

I loved this book. From planting to preserving this book had it all. Especially good if you have little ones at home. Has some amazing ideas for including them in your garden and life as you do day to day tasks. Even has different age appropriate suggestions. Tried the bread and loved it! Will definitely be picking this book up for me and maybe one for a friend.

Author’s inspirational story of her journey into homesteading. Author provides recipes, tips and family activities. She advises to start slow to make the changes of a simpler lifestyle. Beautiful pictures.

Annette Thurman, homesteader and founder of Azure Farm, has written a beautiful book covering everything you need to know about homesteading and finding a deeper connection to the natural.


The photographs are lovely and the information is easy to understand. There are recipes, tips, how-to pages and family activities that focus on no waste, saving money and living a satisfying life.


I saved a few recipes and will be doing more.


Lovely book!

Just a lovely book. Beautiful book on taking things back to a simpler time and ways. Instructions and recipes for everything from cleaner to a veggie pot pie. The pictures are simple and clean.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook.
Beautifully photographed. This book has everything in it. From making your own soap, to laundry soap, food recipes, how to make a garden etc. I loved the authors fashion style and house style. Everything seems very easy to understand and does not seem hard. I cannot wait to try some of these items that were listed.

For someone like me who is making changes and prepping for this lifestyle later this year; this book was wonderful and will be recommended out by me! I appreciate that she has recommendations for "dream big but start small" mindset. Annette has beautiful pictures throughout her entire book and from recipes, cleaning etc. this is the perfect book for those looking for "Simple Country Living"!

This book is great for starters like me! I loved the information the book provided and the pictures are to die for. Really makes me want to romanticise my life haha. It's easy to read and the recipes are great! You don't feel like you have to go beyond to get ingrediants as well.

Just phenomenal. The pictures are captivating and the information is applicable. I feel like some books get too wordy about how to get started. This book gets straight to the point. Has easy and doable recipes and uses ingredients that I feel comfortable using. I will definitely be buying a hard copy of this!!

This book is so refreshing and simple to follow, not only with the eyes and images, but also the easy recipes for a variety of items. I found the recipe for bath salts and cleaning spray that used ingredients already in my house. I would recommend this read for those interested in a simpler way of life, and how homtesteading ideas can be brought to everyone's table. A good coffee table piece. I would recommend this title for addition to our collection.

I loved this beautiful book about homesteading. Annette outlines the why and the how of this lifestyle. She goes in depth on growing your own food, preserving food, bringing nature into your home and clean toxic free living. I appreciate that she advises to take it slow with a few changes to start. She touches on raising chickens and I would like to have read more about raising animals.
The book is written as if a friend is helping you learn about the lifestyle and how to do it. The photography is beautiful. I look forward to trying a few recipes included in the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A lovely book.
The author, Annette Thurmon, shares a similar story as many who turn to homesteading - stressful life of working, economic collapse, and the need for a new, healthier lifestyle. Also similar to many homesteading pros, Thurmon says "I wish I had started living this lifestyle long before we had acres and chickens. Waiting for perfection is one of the biggest things holding us back."
I loved the focus on the term "Lifestyle Change" and starting the book with Knowing your Why. This lifestyle is a culture class and knowing your why is so important - I highly agree. I also loved the encouragement to only choose 1 or 2 life skills to focus on.
Later in the book when we get into the nitty gritty, there are lovely recipes not just for food but also for crafts like natural egg dye, salt dough ornaments, and sun catchers. There are also tips for involving the little ones in your homestead journey and designing around personal desires and family's focus. This makes it a fun book for families and bring them into the homestead research.
The only change I would make it to add in discussions about animals. There are a couple of references to chickens but even those were not detailed. This is more of a garden and home book than a full homestead journey.
That said, its a beautiful book with photographs that look like they came out of the pages of Home & Garden magazine which, for some, can be a little intimidating because of the perfection. Its still gorgeous though.